Jets: Opposites attract with Geno Smith and Matt Simms

When Geno Smith was benched against Miami on Dec. 1, he didn’t sulk. The Jets’ rookie quarterback stayed in the game, at least mentally, and helped out reliever Matt Simms.

And when Smith retained his starting job despite his poor performances, Simms did the same for him. After Smith helped lead the Jets to a win over Oakland a week later, Simms gave him a man hug in the locker room.

Those two snapshots sum up the relationship between the Jets’ two young quarterbacks, who have forged a bond despite being in competition for the same job.

"It’s been fun," said Smith, who will make his 15th straight start today against Cleveland. "The key thing is that Matt’s always been in my corner and I’d do the same for him. It started out with us competing in OTAs [in the spring]. We got to know each other and that relationship has continued to build."

"He was very supportive," Simms said, recalling when Smith was benched at halftime against the Dolphins. "He was still involved. I’ve been in that situation as well, and it’s very easy for a quarterback to kind of a fall into a hole and feel like you’re on an island.

"I think our age has something to do with" the bond, said Simms, who is 25. Smith is 23.

"We’re both young guys," Simms said. "We both grew up in the same generation."

Smith agreed.

"We’re in the same age bracket," said the second-round pick from West Virginia, "so we have similar interests and tastes and we often exchange movie quotes and do all that type of stuff. So we have a lot of fun together."

Their personalities, however, are not similar. Smith, who is from South Florida, is very even-keeled. Simms, a native of Franklin Lakes who starred at Don Bosco, is more emotional.

"It’s kind of like opposites attract, hot, cold, even, odd," Smith said. "You know how that goes. I’m the more laid-back kind of guy and he’s fiery. I can get fiery, too, and when we’re inside this building he can be laid-back. It’s an interesting bond."

"I like to have a lot of energy," he said. "The energy keeps me going, keeps me positive. That’s what works for me. I tried to be the do-right, hard-nosed guy [in college] at Tennessee and that didn’t really fit my personality. I feel like the fiery, cut-it-loose gunslinger type of attitude has worked more for me and my teammates as well."

Simms also knows how his father, Phil, had to endure quarterback controversies through no fault of his own when he played for the Giants, and doesn’t want to rock the boat.

"I’m not going to try and create division in the [quarterback] room at all by any means," Simms said, citing how he admires Chicago backup Josh McCown for not making waves after he was benched last Sunday for a healthy Jay Cutler despite having thrown four touchdown passes against Dallas the week before.

McCown is "handling the situation great," Simms said. "He got a chance to play and played well, and then they put Jay Cutler back in and [McCown] keeps supporting the team, keeps supporting the quarterback."

Smith said the quarterback competition hasn’t caused a rift "because, first of all, we’re two really good character guys. The second thing is we don’t let our job, this game that we love, affect anything outside of us. … We’re kind of too naïve or young to really understand what’s going on, so the key thing is that we support one another though good or bad, thick and thin. And that’s what really builds that bond and that chemistry that we have."